True Wealth Design LLC Grows Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,043 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth about $379,000. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth $1,594,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Kroger by 47.1% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 122,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,488,000 after purchasing an additional 39,261 shares in the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ purchased a new position in Kroger in the third quarter valued at about $935,000. Finally, Arjuna Capital lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 35.9% during the third quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 83,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,756,000 after purchasing an additional 22,174 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total transaction of $368,445.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,615,091.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total transaction of $368,445.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,615,091.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on KR shares. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.17.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KR traded down $0.27 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $51.37. The stock had a trading volume of 3,261,671 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,939,670. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $54.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.42. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34. The stock has a market cap of $37.07 billion, a PE ratio of 17.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.19%.

About Kroger

The Kroger Co operates as a food and drug retailer in the United States. The company operates combination food and drug stores, multi-department stores, marketplace stores, and price impact warehouses. Its combination food and drug stores offer natural food and organic sections, pharmacies, general merchandise, pet centers, fresh seafood, and organic produce; and multi-department stores provide apparel, home fashion and furnishings, outdoor living, electronics, automotive products, and toys.